Hey guys, I'm taking my whole exhaust system down. The system is new made mostly of stainless steel, but I'm already getting rust from heat everywhere. Not sure about my new headers, but I know that as for the rest of the exhaust, I want to protect it too. All the stores around here sell a special duplicolor spray paint which contains high levels of ceramic that resists up to 1600 degrees. I was thinking about spraying multiple layers. Anyone have any experience with this type of stuff? All these store employees recommend it and tell me it's good stuff, but is it really?

Any other paints recommended? I do have a pro spray gun I could use, so spray paints isn't my only option.

As for the headers, I was thinking about powder coating, but don't know who here does this type of stuff. How much does ceramic coating usually cost?

 

Paint - okay for the exhaust past the cat. Surface must be cleaned thoroughly, sand blasting does a good job of roughing the surface for better adhesion. Wipe with thinner just before painting. Heat helps to cure the paint before use - a propane torch does an amazingly good job if you can't get the pieces in a real oven.

Powder coating - no good, can't take heat.

Ceramic coating - different than powder coating, best choice for both corrosion protection and heat shielding. Should be done to both the inside and outside of the headers and y-pipe. You might find a coating outfit that can do ceramic - again, surface prep is critical.

 

Ok, as for the exhaust, you're bang on to what I was planning to do. The only prob is no, i don't have an oven to bake the parts, it requires 400 degrees for 2 hrs. By the time I'd have those parts installed though, my engine should be ready to run, so i could let it run for an hour or so.

I don't have a y pipe, i have a true dual exhaust that exits from the sides with cutouts. One prob with what you're telling me about ceramic is that the inside also has to be done, but the exhaust was used for a month or 2 before starting restoring the car. It's full of residue, I'd have to clean that somehow.

Guess i'll try and find out how much ceramic coating costs if I can find it down here first of all and decide what to do afterwards.

 

If you find someone who does coating, they should have the capability of cleaning and prepping the surface as well.

The reason the inside should be coated is the ceramic coating stops heat transfer. If you only coat the inside, the metal will be heated by the exhaust gases, and won't be able to cool because the coating on the outside will hold the heat in. If you coat both inside and outside, the metal is better insulated from the heat.